Leather tape all the way... Don't hang me on this one - I don't have a place for big tires. If I lived some place with good single track riding, I would be completely different about it. But off-road here is blocky limestone and caliche clay that you don't even want on your bike (we pick up enough of it on the pavement). Tried Jack Browns on my daughter's load-hauler, and went back to 28mm Paselas, which have notably lower rolling resistance. I pretty much ride 28mm on all my bikes, give or take a mm.
On Friday, November 22, 2013 8:57:56 PM UTC-6, Jim wrote: > > I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle in this conversation, as I purchased > my first "adult" bike in 1972 with the money I earned pumping gas. It was > a fillet brazed Schwinn Super Sport, 66cm, classic road frame. I lusted > after a lugged Paramount, but alas, didn't make quite enough scratch that > summer to pull it off. I rode that bike until 1986, mainly as a commuter > for college, grad school and even my first job working for a Tier I > automotive supplier in Detroit (talk about a community that was truly > puzzled by this guy coming to work on an orange Schwinn). I still have the > bike. But I stopped riding after a bad crash, and didn't start back up > until I got to Boulder in 2010. I came to Riv mainly because they had > frames my size, but the velosophy, if you will, was very similar to where I > had left off in 1986. I remain amused by the whole racer vs. unracer > thing, which is very prevalent in Boulder, the kitted out guys tend to ride > aggressively towards the plunkers like me; frankly I worry more about them > than the automobiles. > > Having said all that, what I've learned to like in my return to biking is: > > Fat tires - I love being able to not worry about pavement vs. unpaved > roads vs. fire trails. Just Ride. 27mm Schwinn tires = flats > > Sacks and rear racks - Had neither on my Schwinn, love having the utility > > Big frames - My Schwinn is far too small, mainly in the top tube length, > my knees bang the drops on the handlebars. My Hilsen feels like part of me. > > What doesn't work? > > Front Racks - Head tube is so tall, I can't reach anything. Tried the > Platrack/Slickersack combo, but ended up selling it. > > Cloth bartape - I had my bars rewrapped in Brooks leather tape, love the > feel of that stuff. Shellac'd tape is meh... > > What hasn't changed? > > Brooks B17 - Have one on my Hilsen, have (a 40+ year old one) on my Schwinn > > Friction shifters - Is there any other kind? > > Platform pedals - I had toe clips on my Schwinn, but took them off in 2010 > when I started riding again, my left knee really squawked > > DiaCompe brakes - Have 'em on my Schwinn, Riv still sells 'em. > > Clearance - My Hilsen has nothing on the Schwinn, the latter has massive > clearance. > > Jim in Boulder > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
